Calamity, Adams Mtn's

Figuring this project out as I go along is like trying to fit 100 mosaic pieces into a whole. The best fit is constantly shifting and as you go, there are less and less pieces left over. You are continuously faced with a brand new mosaic to create.

Day 1: Calamity and Adams.

01/19/2018 – Calamity Mountain – Start: 7:46 AM Finish: 1:34 PM

I chose Calamity to kick things off because I was interested in Cheney Cobble and North River, which are close by and which would have similar snow conditions. I was interested in CC-NR because I had very strong and enthusiastic partners lined up and the conditions were looking good.

Christina and Brian joined me for Calamity and it turned out to be a really easy, text-book whack. Of interest was the ¼ inch thick layer of blue ice on the snow-pack above 3200 feet. It was just right for a whack!

01/19/2018 – Mount Adams – Start: 1:54 PM Finish: 4:58 PM

Adams I chose because it was close by. I eschewed the whack across from Cal to Adams in order to save time and energy. I’ve done it by 5 different routes and four were very, very hard. The easiest was done on a 5-foot snow pack. The snow isn’t deep enough right now. The round-trip via the regular trail took 3 hours including a 20 minute stop on the summit. I was happy to note that I was ascending at 30 feet per minute, breathing comfortably through my nose and feeling no effort whatsoever.